Severe upper abdominal pains

[Katie71]

Prior to being diagnosed with Celiac, I experienced very severe upper abdominal pains.  Literally, I thought I was having a heart attack.  I was diagnosed with Celiac, four years ago and have been gluten-free since.  Every now-and-then, I will get the pains.  I attribute it to possible gluten contamination (mostly from restaurants).  Although, I have had these pains periodically for the last 3 days.  It is probably the worst pain I have ever experienced.  I wonder if it is something else?  Something not related to Celiac.  Does anyone else get upper abdominal pains this severe?  If so, what do you do to get rid of them?

 

Thank you.

[Scott Adams]

I too had some severe episodes which landed me in the emergency room at least twice. I also thought I was having a heart attack. 

For me it just took time, and a couple of years on the gluten-free diet. Since you are 4 years into the diet you probably should not be having such symptoms. You may need to look at other possible issues like food intolerance to milk, corn, soy, nightshades, etc., including consulting with your doctor about your symptoms.

Although this article is old, it could still be helpful to you:

 

[Katie71]

Thank you Scott   I appreciate the info and the article.

[trents]

I would also consider possible peptic ulcer or GERD. If the pain is on the right upper side I would think about gallbladder issues.

[Katie71]

Thank you Scott.  I had two gallbladder tests, prior to my endoscopy 4 years ago.  My PC suggested that I have my gallbladder removed.  I actually do one of the tests I had (hida scan) and know how inaccurate it can be.  My GI doc looked at both of my gallbladder scans and said my gallbladder was fine.  Thats when he did the endoscopy and blood test and discovered Celiac.  Anyway, who knows...all I know is the pains are awful .

I will ask my GI doc about the possibility of a peptic ulcer.  I currently take Protonix for GERD.

Thanks again for the info

 

 

[Scott Adams]

Just so you know there are some forum members who are heavily against proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) because they lower your stomach acid, which can cause other GI issues. If you have GERD it makes sense for your doctor to prescribe this, but it is possible that there are side effects, so be sure to look into that as well. 

[Katie71]

Thank you Scott, I have read about PPIs in the past...maybe I will revisit

[trents]

I was on a PPI for 18 yr. and weaned myself off of them over about 5 months. Wasn't easy but I finally won that battle. GERD is very common in those with celiac disease and many get put on PPIs before they are diagnosed with celiac disease and never taken off them after celiac disease diagnosis when they may not need them anymore.

[Katie71]

I actually asked my doc if I could stop taking them.  He said I shouldn't, because I had a lot of erosion at the bottom of my esophogus.  Although, that was four years ago, it could be healed now...idk..

[DJFL77I]

try drinking a lot of green tea.... its good for anti inflammation

[Katie71]

Thank you   I occasionally drink chamomile tea, but I will definitely try green tea.  Thanks for the info

 

[Amy28]

Yes yes yes, a thousand times yes. I've had terrible, random stomach pains for at least the last 20 years. It is always centered in my diaphragm area, and usually feels like I've done about 5,000 setups. The incidents were maybe 1-2 times per year, then maybe 4-5 times per year, then closer together over the last few years. During the pandemic, it was so bad that I had three incidents over 10 days. At that point my doctor said we were going to start over completely fresh and run a full blood panel.

Imagine my surprise when my tests came back for an insanely high celiac panel and was confirmed by biopsy within the week.

I wasn't convinced that these pains that I've even having for 20 years were related to celiac. But I didn't have any episodes for the two months I have been gluten free. Until this weekend! I have been out of town and eating restaurant food for most of the two weeks. Is it possible I was glutened? Yes. Or is it something else? I don't know!

But interesting that someone else has this issue because I always sound crazy when I describe it to people or try a Google search for "diaphragm pain" that yields nothing except "it's your gallbladder" or "you have GERD," both of which have been ruled out.

[Scott Adams]

Gluten exposure in restaurants, even if they have a gluten-free menu, is very common. Just have a look at the articles below. If you do eat outside your home, like my family does, I recommend AN-PEP enzymes like those in GliadinX (full disclosure, they are a Celiac.com advertiser--but do not pay me to promote them in my forum--I run their ad because I have read the many studies that show they actually break down small amounts of gluten in the stomach, before it reaches the intestines). This forum topic covers this if you want to know more:

 

 

 

[Posterboy]

On 11/23/2020 at 2:37 PM, Katie71 said:

Prior to being diagnosed with Celiac, I experienced very severe upper abdominal pains.  Literally, I thought I was having a heart attack.  I was diagnosed with Celiac, four years ago and have been gluten-free since.  Every now-and-then, I will get the pains.  I attribute it to possible gluten contamination (mostly from restaurants).  Although, I have had these pains periodically for the last 3 days.  It is probably the worst pain I have ever experienced.  I wonder if it is something else?  Something not related to Celiac.  Does anyone else get upper abdominal pains this severe?  If so, what do you do to get rid of them?

 

Thank you.

Katie71,

Your doctor can diagnose you (or at least tip themselves off) by where your Abdominal pain is....

And you can too (now that you have this handy dandy chart) to guide you....

This chart will give you a clue of what could be causing your Abdominal pains...

https://www.bing.com/search?q=stomach ulcer painful to touch&qs=n&form=QBRE&sp=-1&pq=stomach ulcer painful to touch&sc=1-30&sk=&cvid=180293CC5233424A8C6255E9B3834BE8

I also recommend this healthline article that explainns in paragraph form many of the same things...

https://www.healthline.com/health/abdominal-pain

with helpful links at the top for helping you navigate the article....including one for location of your abdominal pain and when to seek medical help.

I hope this is helpful but it is not medical advise.

Posterboy,